Is Linda Yaccarino Facing Glass Cliff Challenge at Twitter?

Twitter’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, has stepped into a high-stakes role at the social media giant. An article published in American magazine “Wired” recentlymarked her as the latest victim of the glass cliff phenomenon.The glass cliff refers to the pattern of women being promoted to leadership positions during times of crisis, where success may appear unlikely due to the challenging circumstances they inherit.

Yaccarino’s appointment comes after Elon Musk, owner and former CEO of Twitter, conducted a poll asking whether he should resign as CEO. When a majority voted in favour of his resignation, Musk jokingly responded that he would step down as soon as he found someone “foolish enough” to take the job. Yaccarino, who previously led global advertising at NBCUniversal, accepted the challenge and became CEO of Twitter, enlarging the pool of women leading tech companies.

Previous instances of the glass cliff in the tech industry include Marissa Mayer’s appointment as CEO of Yahoo in 2012 when the company was losing ground to competitors. Similarly, Ellen Pao was chosen as CEO of Reddit in 2014 to address platform issues but faced backlash and resigned in 2015.

However, women are often best suited to help steer organisations back to success. Examples include Mary Barra, who led General Motors to recovery after the 2008 financial crash, and Anne Mulachy, who made Xerox profitable during her tenure as CEO.